Cinnamon Rolls, Espresso and Saving the Planet

Jose Ramos, general manager (left) and owner Kyle Fabra show off some of their cinnamon rolls.

Can cinnamon rolls save the planet? “Our vegan cinnamon rolls are a small step toward positive change for the planet, people and animals,” say the founders of Cinnaholic, opened in December in Northfield, next to the Harkins movie theaters.

Baker Shannon Radke and her husband, Florian, started Cinnaholic in 2010 to serve homemade cinnamon rolls without animal products. “Raising animals for food requires heavy consumption of the world’s resources; vegan food uses a fraction of the resources to produce the food we need,” says the Cinnaholic website.

But Cinnaholic doesn’t emphasize the vegan philosophy. “We don’t hang out the vegan shingle because most people just come in for a fresh cinnamon roll,” said Kyle Fabra, owner of the Cinnaholic franchises in Northfield and Cherry Creek. “Some of our customers like the social impact of our non-animal-based ingredients, and some eat vegan for health. But most don’t know our cinnamon rolls are vegan—they just know they are delicious.”

Cinnaholic offers the cinnamon rolls with a variety of different toppings, including fresh fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, cookie dough and vegan cream cheese. “They are ‘build your own,’ with 20 frostings and 20 toppings to choose from. They are made fresh throughout the day,” said Fabra. “You won’t get one that’s been out of the oven for more than 25 minutes.”

He said they offer a full espresso bar with Novo coffee, nitro cold-brewed coffee and kombucha fermented tea from Happy Leaf, a local company.

Fabra is a former Army Ranger medic who served in Afghanistan for four years. “I joined up after 9/11,” he said. “It was a great experience that taught me a lot about leadership. With so many different personalities in the military, getting things accomplished is a learned ability. You need to be fair and consistent, and respect people. Knowing that helps me hold on to the right employees, people who are friendly and helpful.”

Cinnaholic began in Berkeley, Calif., and now has 14 stores in the U.S. Twenty more locations are under development, guided by the Radkes’ philosophy: “The fewer animal products we consume, the more people we can feed.”

Cinnaholic is at 8302 Northfield Blvd., Suite 1570. Hours are 11am–9pm, Sunday through Thursday; and 11am–10pm, Friday and Saturday. For more information, call 720.335.6007 or see www.cinnaholic.com.